


Heartkiller

by sunaddicted



Series: Riddlebird Week 2k18 [3]
Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Crushes, Everyone Is Gay, Except the Fries, Falling In Love, Fluff and Angst, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Pining, Riddlerbird Week 2k18, Tutoring
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-12
Updated: 2018-06-12
Packaged: 2019-05-18 06:49:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14847816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunaddicted/pseuds/sunaddicted
Summary: He didn't need more.He didn't want more.But he wanted Oswald.





	Heartkiller

**Author's Note:**

> First time I write a high school au, I hope it's good - let me know what you think?

_Heartkiller_

Weird hairstyle: check.  

Worn and unfashionable clothes: check.

Odd personality: check.

Foreign accent: check.

Edward didn't understand school hierarchy sometimes (which actually meant _never_ : nothing in school really made sense, not even the curricula… _so basic_ ): Oswald Cobblepot perfectly fit the profile of a kid on whom the bullies should have thrown themselves - instead, despite his pastel goth aesthetic and blatant preference for the members of the same sex, he seemed to actually be _popular._

Oswald was always surrounded by a colourful and puzzling variety of people, from the brainless goons that flanked and dwarfed him with their muscles and height - and who doubled as Edward's bullies when they weren't at the end of Oswald's leash - to the queens of the school who met up to smoke in the bathrooms and carelessly left without opening the window.

Apparently, he was at ease with everyone - confident and self-assured, Oswald never hunched on his shoulders or spoke in a too low voice.

Edward wasn't envious of Oswald's popularity: he didn't want an entourage of people following him, socialising was exhausting enough and he did the bare minimum to avoid being completely relegated as an outcast - he didn't want the other students looking at him or gossiping about him.

He had a couple of friends and he cherished them, they had lunch together and sometimes scraped enough energies to actually meet up outside of school and share some of their free time together.  

He didn't need more.

He didn't want more.

But he wanted Oswald.  

Edward didn't quite know when he had started developing feelings for his object of study; one day he was cataloguing the exact shade of the oversized grandma sweater Oswald was wearing that day - Pantone _Misty Lilac_ \- and the following one he was wondering about how he could persuade Oswald that dating him wouldn't be a complete waste of time, despite the fact that he sorely lacked any kind of relationship experience and was just wrapping his head around the fact that apparently he was attracted to guys too.

 _Hello, I'm Edward. Nygma. Did you know that penguins keep their eggs warm balancing them on their feet? Neat. Also, you're my bi-awakening_ \- yeah, that would have gone down well.  

Edward sighed and stabbed a cube of watermelon with a toothpick, twirling it briefly to make sure that the previous evening he had gotten rid of all seeds before he popped it in his mouth.

“Your pining is killing my brain cells” Victor complained as he flicked through the pages of their physics book, ignoring the firm elbow Nora planted in his ribs in a reproaching manner “Just sit next to me when I'm at their table and chat him up”

“He doesn't even know who I am”

Victor arched an eyebrow, eyes still fixed on a vaguely interesting and challenging problem he had found “Introduce yourself, then. We're not in a Jane Austen’s novel, you don't need me to do that for you”

“It's not polite” Edward pointed out, viciously stabbing another watermelon cube, pouring all of his frustration on the watery red flesh of the fruit “Doesn't he need tutoring? Then I would at least have an excuse to sit at your table and start a conversation”

Victor shrugged “He's crap at maths”

“He's never spoken about needing a tutor, though” Nora chimed in, before Edward could jump out of his seat and run to offer his services to Cobblepot, making a fool out of himself in front of the whole school “I'll ask him. Maybe asking for help never crossed his mind” even if she personally thought that Oswald probably was just too proud to admit he wasn't good at something.  

“Really?” Edward's grin brightened at Nora’s nod “You're a jewel, Victor doesn't deserve you”

“I can hear you, Ed”

“Good”

Nora shook her head as Victor proceeded to glare at Edward, softening only when he was offered a piece of fruit to snack on: she sincerely hoped that she wasn't setting Edward up for heartbreak - after the Kringle twins debacle, their friend really deserved someone better.

* * *

“You're sitting at the Royal table today”

“What?” Edward frowned at Lee's hand, firmly clamped on his bicep “Where are Victor and Nora?”

“Already at their places” Lee answered with a sigh, turning around to face her… well, friend wasn't the right word to use - not after what had happened with Kristen. But they had used to get along and Lee had genuinely enjoyed Edward's company and weird sense of humour when they used to pair up together for science lab “Look, Oswald has kicked Butch out of the table to make space for you - let's go”

Edward blinked at that “Why?”

“Didn't you offer to tutor him at maths?”

Apparently, Nora worked fast “I.. Yeah.  Yeah, I did”

“Hurry up, then. He wants to talk with you”

“About what?”

Lee had met toddlers who asked less questions than Edward did “Price, timetable.. you'll know only if you get your ass out of that chair” she reminded him, tightening a little her grip on his arm as she marched him towards the other table, pushing him to sit down between Fries and his girlfriend.  

“Uh.. hello” Edward murmured to his friends as he took notice of Lee's place, a little too close to Barbara if one considered that until a month ago they were fighting over the likes of Jim Gordon; they both were smarter than that and definitely could aim at someone better than an hypocritical jock - he was not-so-secretly rooting for the two women to end up together and show Jim that they didn't need him in their lives.  

Plus, they would make quite the spectacular couple: their characters completed one another and Edward had a feeling they would be able to exalt the other's strengths, while mellowing amd smoothing their flaws and edges - he was hopeless when it came to reading social cues, but he'd always been decent at reading people and the dynamics between them.  

“Something to say, Nygma?”

Barbara’s sharp voice shook Edward out of his musings “The poor have it, the rich need it and if you eat it, you'll die”

“Are you asking her a riddle?”

Had Oswald Cobblepot really just talked to him? He turned towards him and smiled eagerly, ignoring Victor’s warning stomp on his foot “Do you like riddles?”

Oswald snorted “No”

He deflated a little but he pushed away the wave of disappointment: perfection in a potential partner was overrated, Edward could ignore that little flaw - and maybe Oswald would warm up to riddles if he was exposed to clever ones “The answer is nothing” he offered anyway before looking back at Barbara “I have nothing to say, miss Kean"

“Good” Barbara retorted, muttering something that suspiciously sounded like _freak_ under her breath.  

“I hope you're not planning on using riddles to explain math to me or you're going to be useless”

Those words distracted him from Barbara’s insult and Edward shook his head, hurrying to reassure Oswald before the other man decided to drop him - it was the chance he'd been waiting for to get close to him, he had no intentions of losing it because of his little idiosyncrasies “I won't. I'll keep my explanations as simple and as straightforward as possible”

Nora decided to come to her friend's help when he spied the doubtful expression on Oswald's face “He really is a good teacher” she confirmed, smiling when she felt Edward gratefully nudging her foot with his own “Way more understandable than Victor” she added with a wink, knowing that Oswald had been tutored by her boyfriend a couple of times and hadn't been quite able to help him.   

Victor snorted “I'm a great teacher”

“To someone who hasn't been failing maths since elementary school, maybe” Oswald pointed out, rolling his eyes “Fine, Nygma, let's try this out”

“Ed”

Oswald arched an eyebrow.

Edward swore he felt his cheeks burn with a rather unattractive flush as the other boy turned the focus of those bright blue eyes on him and he had to fight against his suddenly dry throat and heavy tongue in order to offer the explanation Oswald had clearly asked for “Call me Ed, please"

“Alright, _Ed_ : I'll see you on Friday after school, we'll be going to mine” Oswald offered with an amused smile before he focused back on his lunch and Barbara’s loud complaints about some store clerk who had dared to suggest her she should try a bigger size of the dress she'd been eyeing up.

Butterflies were fluttering so hard in his stomach that Edward felt nauseous and he didn't even complain when Nora shamelessly stole the last of his chicken nuggets: for all that he cared in that moment, she could steal them for the rest of the school year.  

He had a date with Oswald Cobblepot.  

Sort of.  

It still was better than what his position had been just half an hour before and Edward promised himself that he wouldn't let his ineptitude and shyness deprive him of what he wanted: he would show Oswald that he could be good for him, that behind the awkward exterior he was worth the other's attention.  

Or so he hoped.  

* * *

Edward squeezed Nora’s hand, muttering an apology for his sweaty palm but not at all inclined to let go of her as they waited for Oswald to get out of the building: he was late - the last bell had rung ten minutes ago and still there wasn't a sign of those inky black hair - and Edward couldn't deny that he was afraid the other boy had decided to not waste any time on him.  

“He's going to come, don't worry” Nora murmured, pushing a curl of hair out of Edward's forehead “He must have bumped into someone” and if he hadn't, the following day Nora was going to tell Oswald just what she thought about his poor manners.  

“What if he thought I'm too weird?”

“You're not weird”

Edward pursed his lips “Barbara called me a freak, I've heard her”

Nora sighed “You're not a freak" she reassured, bestowing a comforting kiss on his forehead “You're different but there's nothing wrong with that: if Oswald has any sense, he'll give you a chance before forming any kind of judgement about you”

He wished he could believe her but Edward knew that Nora’s opinion wasn't exactly popular: even his own parents hated him and never missed a chance to remind him how much of s disgrace he was - how ashamed they were of him.  

“And there he comes” Nora said brightly, nodding towards the figure hobbling towards them “Text me later, okay?”

Edward nodded “Thank you for waiting with me” he murmured, mournfully letting her hand go so that she could slip into Victor’s car, knowing that her boyfriend had stayed behind so that he could drive her home.  

“Good luck!” Nora winked, grinning: she had faith in her friend, she knew that Edward could charm Oswald - he just had to keep the riddles to himself, at least for the moment.

Or forever - he didn't really understand that not many people liked riddles and puzzles, especially when they couldn't solve them.

Edward watched her go with a bit of regret and he jumped when a hand landed on his shoulder “O-oswald!” He stuttered, eyes wide behind his thick lenses “Hi!”

“Hi. Forgive me for being late" Oswald apologised, eyes briefly following Nora’s retreating back before he focused on Nygma - he looked… nervous.  Definitely on edge. Had the guy thought he wouldn't meet him? Well, that was quite the lack of faith “Are you okay with walking? My home isn't that far”

Edward nodded “Yeah. Yeah, walking is fine” it would help to get rid some of his nerves and anxiety “So.. How bad are you at math?”

Oswald chuckled, bitter and self-deprecating “I'm hopeless: I wasn't joking when I said that I've been failing at it since elementary school” he reminded the other boy, leading him towards his home “It's just… pointless”

“I see” Edward hummed, shortening his stride to avoid rushing Oswald “You need to see a practical application to maths to get the motivation to study it” it was a common problem - not one he actually understood because he loved numbers, but he could see how a mind with no proclivity for mathematics needed a more hands-on approach “I guess that you're better at geometry”

“A little” Oswald answered, shrugging “Only marginally”

“Well, that's because you're lacking the maths basis” Edward pointed out “But you do understand the concepts of geometry?”

“That sounds right” Oswald agreed, unearthing his keys from the pocket of his fraying blazer: he'd have to patch it up a little, see if his mother had any nice fabric scraps in her sewing box “Nobody ever put my bad grades in that perspective” it was comforting: even if his mother told him that he was a smart boy, sometimes it was hard not feeling stupid.  

That was good, wasn't it? Edward hoped so “You might not be mathematically inclined but I'm confident you can at least reach a passing grade” he was an objective person, he wasn't in the habit of lying to the students he tutored - he didn't want to set the bar too high and be berated when he didn't manage to help them get those unrealistically high grades.  

“That's all I need - I have no plans for college or uni, anyway”

“Why not?”

Was the guy for real? Oswald made an ample gesture with his arm, including himself and the front door of his house - shabby, paint flaking away, a rusty lock that made them worry to the point of keeping a baseball bat under each of their beds “I can't afford it”

Edward cast his eyes down to the floor, embarrassed by his tactless question “Sorry”

“It's okay” it wasn't - Oswald hated having to acknowledge how bad their economic situation was “You can keep your shoes on if you want” he told Edward as he pushed the door open, wincing with embarrassment when his mother's voice travelled through the house and greeted him loudly “Hi, mother! We have a guest!” Oswald shouted back, gesturing Edward to give him his jacket.  

“A guest?”

Edward smiled shyly at the odd woman that appeared in the hall, holding a bowl in her arms “Hello, Mrs Cobblepot"

“Kapelput” she corrected “But you can call me Gertrude, dear. You're so thin, so dreadfully thin. I'm making pancakes, sit in the kitchen”

“Mother..”

“ _Sit_ ”

Oswald sighed and shot Edward an apologetic glance “Sorry about that, she's…”

“Motherly” the other said, shrugging: he was a little self-conscious about being called thin; he knew that he was malnourished, that he looked hungry - his height didn't help to make him appear any healthier “It's okay. It's sweet” something he wasn't used to but Edward was too polite to disobey his host and he followed Oswald into the kitchen, sitting down at the table even if his fingers were itching to help.  

“So, who are you?” Gertrude inquired, putting a cup full of tea in front of the boy.

“Edward. Nygma”

“He's tutoring me at maths, mother” Oswald added “To help me with my grades”

The hug that suddenly enveloped him left Edward blinking and rigid, hands up in the air - afraid of touching even an inch of the woman that was squeezing him and murmuring something in a foreign language in his ear, bushy blond hair smacked into his glasses.  

“Mother, leave him alone!”

* * *

Edward was happy: as his tutoring lessons became a regular slot in Oswald's timetable, they grew closer than he had ever dared to imagine possible and even if his crush was growing out of proportion, at least now he was able to squeeze close to the other boy and he the reason why he had a smile on his face - especially since his grades started improving and for the first time in years Oswald might not have to take remedial classes during the summer.

He also grew used to Gertrude being just as affectionate as her son, treasuring her little physical displays of affection - suffocating hugs and loud kisses to his cheeks as she offered him morsels of Hungarian specialities - and generally enjoying the warm atmosphere in her household, almost enough to make him forget that his own home felt nothing like Oswald's.   

So, it only made sense that his father would ruin the peaceful corner he had managed to cut out for himself.  

“Edward, what happened to your face?”

“Wall..”

“You wear glasses to avoid hitting walls, Edward” Victor growled, angry at the sight of the deep purple bruise that was darkening half of Edward's face and he clenched his fists with a mix of anger and helplessness, wishing there was something he could do for his friend.

Edward sighed “It's not a lie” _technically_ \- his father had slammed his face against the wall and that was were the bruise came from. Gently, he pushed Nora’s fluttering hands away “I'm fine” it wasn't the worst he'd gotten, Victor had had to wrap his cracked ribs up the previous summer.

“Ed..”

He shook his head “Can we just have lunch somewhere quiet?”

Victor exchanged a worried glance with Nora: it had been a while since their friend had purposefully sought isolation and Victor hoped that Edward wouldn't start shrinking on himself again - not now that Oswald seemed to have managed to draw him out of his shell, more than he and Nora had ever managed; it had been a true relief seeing Edward laugh so much, slowly start looking people in the eyes, his voice growing firmer, his nervous stuttering disappearing.. they could only hope that all of the progress hadn't been destroyed by whatever Edward's father had done to him.

But Victor nodded to his request in the end and he grabbed Edward's elbow to lead him towards the back of the school, steering well away from the canteen and ignoring the way his friend stiffened under his touch “Come on, let's soak up some sunshine”

“I've made a batch of brownies yesterday - the ones with caramel drizzled on top” Nora informed him, naturally and protectively falling into step at Edward's other side “I brought some” she added, hoping to elicit a smile from the other boy.  

Edward's face felt too numb to smile - what was the point anyway? His father would always bring him back to the harsh reality with a well placed fist against his sensitive skin “Neat" he murmured, staring at his feet.

_He'd been so happy._

* * *

Oswald wasn't the type to chase people around - he didn't _beg_ for attention - but it had been two weeks since he’d last spoken to Edward and he'd seen the other boy only for brief stolen moments in the corridors, as Edward hurried from one class to another, Nora constantly standing by his side.

He was going insane with worry, his stomach twisting tightly whenever he tried to raise his hand in the crowd to greet Edward but the other boy never seemed to raise his gaze from the ground: had he done something to offend Edward?

Oswald had desperately gone over their last conversation a thousand of times, trying to understand why Edward was avoiding him in such a way.  

It had been a nice afternoon, the early spring warmth soaking the cramped balcony and his mother had brought them milkshakes that were a little too heavy on the milk and a leftover slice of homemade strudel to share, balancing the crockery over their books and making the little table seem even more crowded; Edward had tilted his head up in his mother's affectionate kiss to his forehead and he had cracked jokes the whole afternoon, bumping their naked feet together under the table - as if he was unaware of the way the skin-on-skin contact made his heart make pirouettes in his throat.  

Everything had been.. normal.  

Blissful.  

It didn't change the fact that Edward wasn't speaking to him, that he hadn't even given him an explanation for the last couple of missed tutoring sessions.  

“Victor!” Oswald shouted, limping harder than usual and elbowing everyone in his path to make them move out of his way “Fries, slow the fuck down!”

“What do you want, Oswald?”

He scowled - irritated that the other teen had made him _run_ , it was so undignified - and grabbed Victor by his sweater, dragging him towards an empty classroom so that they could have some privacy “I need to talk to you”

Victor rolled his eyes “I gathered that. Care to enlighten me further?”

“Edward”

Victor’s eyes narrowed as soon as he heard his friend's name, protective streak rising like a bubbling tempest in his chest “What about him?”

“He's been avoiding me and I.. I..” Oswald hated how thin his voice sounded “I was wondering if I did something wrong” he admitted in the end, sighing “I would like to apologise if I did. Talk with him” he missed Edward, he'd grown so used to touching the other boy and.. Oswald had fallen hard for the nerdy guy who had a wicked sense of humour behind his plaid shirts and too big glasses; who never spoke to him like he was an idiot even when he had to explain to him how to solve the easiest equation three times or four with no guarantee he would understand; who cuddled into his side when he was tired, making himself into a small ball of limbs.  

“You didn't do anything”

“Didn't I?”

Victor shook his head, a bit of tension bleeding out of his shoulders “You didn't, Oswald. Edward.. look, it's not in my place to tell: he just needs some time on his own, he's not doing too well”

Those words made Oswald's insides lurch and ache at the thought that Edward was suffering - that he was going through a hard patch “Can I help?”

Victor started to shake his head but then he remembered how good Oswald had been for Edward, how the other boy had made his friend blossom and open up - maybe Oswald really could connect with Edward, draw him out from behind the walls he'd built up again “We have lunch in the small park at the back of the school” Victor offered, hoping he wouldn't regret it.

* * *

Victor didn't like to keep things hidden from Edward, but he hoped that the surprise of being looked for by his crush would move something inside him - that it would make Edward feel loved and cherished like he deserved.  

He observed as Nora offered their friend a cookie and drew him to rest against her chest, one arm thrown across his stomach; Victor had never been jealous of the closeness between the two, he trusted Nora and he knew that Edward saw her just as a friend - he didn't see why he should pitch a fit when he was well aware that the affection between them was all platonic.  

Especially since they always tried to include him in their cuddling sessions and even if he grumbled, Victor never complained and let himself be enveloped in their arms.  

As subtle as possible, Victor kept raising his eyes from the last bites of his lunch to look around and check whether Oswald was going to show his face; the closer the end of lunch period came, the more Victor worried that the other boy wouldn't come to find Edward.

Victor didn't understand: Oswald had seemed so.. earnest, so genuinely worried about Edward - he didn't want to admit it, but he had honestly hoped that the other boy would be of some help.  

Apparently, he would have to swallow his disappointment.  

“Oswald?” Edward couldn't believe what he was seeing - _who_ he was seeing: had the other boy really come to look for him? It seemed..  unlikely. Sure, they had become good friends over the weeks of tutoring but he hadn't realised that Oswald might miss him - not when he thought about all the people that surrounded him.

Oswald offered Edward a small smile and nodded towards a patch of grass next to him “Can I sit?” he just wanted to be close to him, asking questions could wait: he didn't want to push Edward away.  

“Okay”

* * *

Slowly Edward came back to him and Oswald couldn't be happier to hear the other boy laugh again and see him smile, he gradually lost his edge and relaxed - it was like seeing ice melt in the spring, Edward's quirky personality blossoming once again as he warmed up.

Oswald still didn't really know yet what had happened to Edward: Nora had murmured something about his father and how it wasn't her place to tell him - and Oswald could respect that.  He _did_ respect that, he was happy that Edward had such good friends but he wished that he too would be included in his confidence.

He'd have to be patient even if it really wasn't his forte.

Edward definitely was worth it, though.  

“We've missed you so, so much”

“I'm sorry, Mrs Kapelput"

Gertrude put a plate of biscuits in front of Edward and bent down to bestow a kiss on his temple “Don't apologise. Promise to not disappear again” she chided gently.  

“Mother..”

Edward shook his head at Oswald, signalling that it was alright: it really hadn't been nice of him, disappearing without a word, and Oswald's mother was so nice - before meeting her, Edward had never known how a real mother behaved “I promise. I was extremely impolite, it won't happen again”

Gertrude gave him a pleased smile “Good boy. Study now: my Oswald doesn't touch his books without you”

“That's.. that's not true!” Oswald retorted, flushing furiously and glaring at his mother - who just ruined it, ruffling his hair and giving his cheek a loud smooch before disappearing somewhere in the house, singing an old Hungarian song about young love that he really hoped Edward didn't understand “I swear I studied.  A little”

“I believe you” Edward reassured.

“You do?”

“Well” Edward adjusted his glasses and grinned at Oswald “I was going to test you anyway, to check what has stuck and what hasn't - no reason to not believe you until you prove the contrary to me"

Oswald was so screwed “That's mean!”

“That's being a responsible teacher” Edward slid a neat list of exercises to the other boy, fingers trembling when he accidentally touched Oswald's knuckles “I'm not heaping more formulas in your brain if you still haven't made a sense of the other ones yet” he nudged their feet together “Come on, I'm here to help if you get in a spot of trouble with a problem”

Oswald snorted “A spot of trouble? Oh, you've got high hopes”

It turned out, they had been a little too high.  

Edward walked Oswald through every single one of the problems with a patience he hadn't known he had stored in his depths, the usual annoyance he felt whenever people couldn't grasp even the simplest concepts was completely absent and Edward smiled rewardingly at Oswald every time those bright blue eyes turned up to look at him.

It was so hard to restrain himself from leaning down and kissing him, but Edward's fear of jeopardizing their connection was so much greater than the prospect of having more.  

Even if Oswald looked at him with eyes full of so much affection and trust.  

“Thank God you're helping me or I would be in so much trouble”

“You just need practice” Edward comforted Oswald, closing their books: they definitely had had enough for one night and since Gertrude had invited him to stay for dinner - claiming as always that he was way too thin for his age - Edward wanted to help out in the kitchen or set the table at the very least “Next year we can work on something better than just a passing grade”

“Remember what we said about high hopes” Oswald sing-songed “Don't harbour them”

* * *

Edward had never stretched on the roof of his house to look at the stars, he'd never seen the appeal in looking at the sky in Gotham: the lights of the city were way too bright for the stars to shine decently on them and the ever-present curtain of smoke and smog dulled their brilliance, transforming them in nothing more than blinking luminous dots that could have easily passed for the lights of an aeroplane or satellites.  

That evening the conditions of the night sky weren't any different, there were even some clouds stretched like taffy over the moon.  

But Edward had his belly full of warm and nutritious Hungarian food, his father was nowhere near him and Oswald was sprawled next to him, huddled so close to his side that if he closed his eyes, Edward could feel where the other's body seared its mark on his skin and he could delude himself that Oswald was so close because he wanted him - not because the air was chilly.  

“Are you happy, Ed?”

“That's very out of the blue”

Oswald shrugged: maybe it was “You've looked sad for a while, I was worried about you” tentatively, he reached out and swiped his fingers through Edward's hair, waves hardened and beat into submission by pomade “You seem better now, though”

“I am” Edward reassured, sighing happily and leaning into that glorious touch “You helped”

“I'm glad” Oswald smiled brightly, even if the other boy wasn't looking at him and couldn't see it - couldn't see just how happy Edward made him; it was so ridiculously obvious that even his mother had noticed and had blabbered something about true love and soulmates in Hungarian, before launching into waxing poetry about Edward's manners and intelligence and reminded him that boys were silly so, he had to be blunt about how much he liked him.  And Oswald wanted to follow his mother's tips, she'd never led him astray - he just panicked whenever he thought that Edward's absence could become more permanent if he confessed his feelings.

“You're thinking too loudly"

Oswald snorted “You can't hear people thinking”

“No but I recognise all the signs that your brain is in fervent activity”

Well, that made sense “Ed?”

“Yes?”

“CanIkissyou?” Oswald blurted, the words curling into one another like a tunneling wave just a few seconds before crashing on the beach “Can I kiss you?” He repeated when Edward didn't give him any kind of reaction, voice trembling like a leaf shivering in the autumnal wind.  

“F-for real?” Edward stuttered, heart momentarily still in his chest - as shocked as his brain was after hearing those words he'd only dreamed Oswald could tell him.   

“Y-yeah” the other boy managed to answer before soft lips crashed against his own - awkward, clumsy, frantic.  

_Unmistakably Edward's._

Oswald smiled and slowed down the kiss, hand tenderly cupping the nape of Edward's neck.


End file.
